Ron Howard Takes Over as Director on Han Solo Spinoff Film

The upcoming Star Wars spinoff, which will center around a young Han Solo, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons this week. The film’s original directors, the highly regarded Phil Lord and Chris Miller of Jump Street and Lego Movie fame, were fired on Tuesday in the middle of production after creative differences between them and producer/Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy and co-writer/executive producer Lawrence Kasdan. On the heels of their removal from the project, the studio has found an Oscar-winning filmmaker to fill the role: Ron Howard.

The spinoff still has several weeks worth of shooting left on the schedule, so Howard will begin work immediately. It isn’t yet clear if the filmmaker will be taking… solo… credit for directing, or if he’ll be credited alongside the previous directing team. Lord and Miller have the right to appeal any decision, but ultimately, the Directors Guild of America will make the call.

Howard is prominently known for his work on films such as Willow (a film that also involved Lucasfilm), Parenthood, Apollo 13, and How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Okay, so maybe not *entirely* that last one, but you can’t blame a guy for trying.

What do you think of the directing shakeup that’s taken place in the Star Wars universe? Are you excited to see Ron Howard take on the project? Sound off in the comments and on social media!

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